Flexible lines, such as hydraulic, electrical or fiberoptic control lines coiled on a spool, are commonly run in a well with a tubular, thereby preventing the lines from substantial movement while in the annulus surrounding the tubular. These flexible control lines are commonly used to control the operation of various downhole equipment, including safety valves and subsea blowout preventers (BOPs). Control lines may be used to receive data from downhole instruments and to selectively operate downhole instruments, such as valves, switches, sensors and relays from the surface. Flexible lines may also be used for corrosion control or to treat fluids produced from the well. The control lines and the tubular may thus extend through the spider or slip bowl assembly used to support the tubular string from the rig floor. The lines are conventionally clamped to the tubular at the well site above the spider or slip bowl assembly which is positioned on the rig floor, so that the tubular string and the control lines together are run in the well.
A spider or slip bowl assembly is a device used on the drilling rig for grasping and supporting a tubular string as the tubular joints are made up into the string. A spider or slip bowl assembly has an interior bore and circumferentially arranged slips disposed around the string and within the interior bore. The slips move radially inward to grip the outer surface of the tubular and support the tubular in the well when the tubular string is not supported by an elevator. In some operations, it is practical to position the spider over the well hole to grip the tubular, and to move the spider laterally away from the well hole when running the tubular and the control lines into the well.
Various problems have existed for years in positioning the control lines for the clamps to secure the lines to the tubular while also allowing other apparatus, such as elevators and power tongs, to manipulate or operate on the tubular without damaging the control lines. The time required to position and clamp flexible lines to the tubular inherently delays the run-in process and may cost an operator tens of thousands of dollars in personnel costs and rig daily rental.
In one approach, a flexible line coiled on a drum may be guided by an arm extending generally downward from the rig mast, with a roller on the end of the arm. The roller may be spaced 25 feet or more above the rig floor, and positions the flexible line generally adjacent a perimeter of the tubular, so that the flexible line can extend down and be positioned within the clamp for clamping to the tubular. A significant problem with this arrangement is the cost of installing and properly adjusting the arm on the rig mast. Also, a flexible line extending downward from the roller may move laterally a foot or more from the vertical position of the roller, in which case manual labor by the rig hands is required to physically push or pull the line back to the position wherein the flexible line may be clamped to the tubular.
In view of the above problems, others have incurred the expense of inserting the flexible lines and clamping the lines to the tubular at a position below the spider or slip bowl assembly and above the rig floor. In this case, the spider is positioned a substantial distance above the rig floor to allow an operator sufficient space between the rig floor and the spider to clamp the control lines to the tubular. Examples of this technology are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,644 and U.S. 2004/00795338A1.
In offshore applications, it is frequently necessary to utilize several control lines with each tubing string. Multiple lines may be attached to the tubular in a circumferential arrangement that permits the lines to clear the slip segments in the spider or in the slip bowl assembly. When multiple lines are utilized, more time is required to position each line with respect to other lines so that all lines are properly positioned within the tubular clamp.
The disadvantages of prior art are overcome by the present invention, and improved equipment and techniques are provided for positioning a flexible line to be clamped to a tubular when the flexible line and tubular are run in the well.